U.S. patent number 5,388,390 [Application Number 08/138,369] was granted by the patent office on 1995-02-14 for dough cutting and packing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Pillsbury Company. Invention is credited to James W. Finkowski, Steven K. Hanson, William L. Murphy.
United States Patent |
5,388,390 |
Finkowski , et al. |
February 14, 1995 |
Dough cutting and packing apparatus
Abstract
A dough cutting and packing apparatus for cutting a sheet of
dough into dough pieces and transferring the dough pieces to
containers. A cutting unit is defined by a plurality of cutting
plates having dough retaining openings. The sheet of dough is
partially sheeted into the dough retaining openings by an initial
compressor roll which is spaced from an upper surface of the
cutting plates. A terminal compressor roll contacts the upper
surface of the cutting plates, and acts to sheet a remaining
portion of the dough sheet into the dough retaining openings to
divide the dough sheet into a plurality of dough pieces retained in
the openings. The initial compressor roll is driven at a peripheral
rate of speed that exceeds an instantaneous liner rate of speed of
the cutting unit. The terminal compressor roll is frictionally
driven via contact with the cutting plates such that a peripheral
rate of speed of the terminal compressor matches the linear rate of
speed of the cutting unit. A packing mechanism transfers the dough
pieces from the cutting unit to the containers as the containers
are moved relative to the packing mechanism by a plurality of
flighted augers.
Inventors: |
Finkowski; James W. (Andover,
MN), Murphy; William L. (Maple Grove, MN), Hanson; Steven
K. (Shoreview, MN) |
Assignee: |
The Pillsbury Company
(Minneapolis, MN)
|
Family
ID: |
22481714 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/138,369 |
Filed: |
October 15, 1993 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
53/516; 425/298;
425/397; 426/128; 53/247; 53/473; 83/123; 83/284 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B
25/06 (20130101); Y10T 83/465 (20150401); Y10T
83/2122 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B65B
25/00 (20060101); B65B 25/06 (20060101); B65B
063/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;53/244,247,250,473,513,514,516 ;83/123,284 ;99/509
;425/145,298,305.1,343,346,397 ;426/128,397 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Bray; W. Donald
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kinney & Lange
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a dough cutting and packing apparatus of the type including a
movable, endless cutting unit having a plurality of openings for
retaining dough pieces, and a packing mechanism positioned above
the endless cutting unit and configured to reciprocate through the
openings in the cutting unit for removing the dough pieces from the
openings, and further including a container positioning mechanism
for moving a plurality of containers relative to the packing
mechanism such that the containers are advanced from a position
aligned with a first set of openings to successive positions
aligned with successive sets of openings to allow the packing
mechanism to transfer dough pieces from the cutting unit to the
containers until the containers are filled, the improvement which
comprises:
a dough sheeting and cutting mechanism including:
first means positioned adjacent a first end of the cutting unit for
partially sheeting dough of a dough strip into the plurality of
openings in the cutting unit; and
second means positioned subsequent to the first means and spaced
from the first end of the cutting unit for sheeting a remaining
portion of dough of the dough strip into the cutting unit to divide
the dough strip into the plurality of dough pieces that are
retained within the plurality of openings in the cutting unit.
2. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the
endless cutting unit includes:
a plurality of interconnected cutting plates that extend about a
rotatable idler element and a rotatable drive element spaced from
the idler element; and
a drive mechanism coupled to the drive element for driving the
cutting unit at a linear rate of speed, the dough strip being
supported on an upper surface of the cutting plates as the dough
strip and cutting plates travel through the dough sheeting and
cutting mechanism.
3. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 2 wherein the
first means includes an initial rotatable member which is spaced
from the upper surface of the cutting plates.
4. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the
spacing between the initial rotatable member and the upper surface
of the cutting plates is between 0.03125 inches and 0.5 inches.
5. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the
initial rotatable member is a cylindrical compressor roll, and
wherein the dough sheeting and cutting mechanism further includes
drive means coupled to the initial compressor roll for rotatably
driving the initial compressor roll.
6. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 5 wherein the
drive means includes a gear reduction mechanism which causes
rotation of the initial compressor roll at a peripheral rate of
speed that is greater than the instantaneous linear rate of speed
of the cutting unit.
7. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 6 wherein the
peripheral rate of speed is between 105% and 175% of the linear
rate of speed.
8. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 6 wherein the
drive means further includes a first drive belt coupling the gear
reduction mechanism to the initial compressor and a second drive
belt for coupling the gear reduction mechanism to the idler element
of the cutting unit.
9. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 5 wherein the
dough sheeting and cutting mechanism further includes an initial
supporting roll positioned adjacent to a lower surface of the
cutting plates and in alignment with the initial compressor roll,
the initial supporting roll supporting the cutting plates during
operation of the initial compressor roll.
10. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 5 wherein the
dough sheeting and cutting mechanism includes a low friction
framework or a slide bed, positioned adjacent to a lower surface of
the cutting plates and in alignment with the initial compressor
roll, for supporting the cutting plates during operation of the
initial compressor roll.
11. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 5 wherein the
second means includes a terminal rotatable member which contacts
the upper surface of the cutting plates.
12. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 11 wherein the
terminal rotatable member is a terminal rotatable, cylindrical
compressor roll, and wherein the terminal compressor roll is
rotatably driven at a peripheral rate of speed by way of frictional
contact with the upper surface of the cutting plates such that the
peripheral rate of speed of the terminal compressor roll matches
the linear rate of speed of the cutting unit.
13. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 12 wherein the
dough sheeting and cutting mechanism further includes a terminal
supporting roll positioned adjacent to a lower surface of the
cutting plates and in alignment with the terminal compressor roll,
the terminal supporting roll supporting the cutting plates during
operation of the terminal compressor roll.
14. The dough cutting and packing apparatus of claim 12 wherein the
dough sheeting and cutting mechanism includes a low friction
framework or a slide bed, positioned adjacent to a lower surface of
the cutting plates and in alignment with the terminal compressor
roll, for supporting the cutting plates during operation of the
terminal compressor roll.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to dough cutting and packing
devices. In particular, the present invention is a dough cutting
and packing device having a dough sheeting and cutting mechanism
capable of pressing a dough sheet against a cutting unit, having a
plurality of openings, to divide the dough sheet into a plurality
of large volume dough pieces.
Devices for cutting a sheet of dough into pieces and packing the
dough pieces into containers are generally known. U.S. Pat. No.
3,427,783 to Reid, which is incorporated herein by reference,
discloses one such dough cutting and packing apparatus.
Improvements to the Reid apparatus are included in U.S. Pat. No.
5,247,782 to Rejsa which is herein incorporated by reference. The
Rejsa patent discloses an improved packing mechanism driven by a
microprocessor controlled servo motor. In Reid, a retaining and
releasing assembly is positioned above a center region of a cutting
unit. The retaining and releasing assembly includes a plurality of
retaining and releasing heads or tubes which are mounted to the
cutting and packing apparatus for reciprocating movement through
hex shaped cups or openings in cutting plates of the cutting unit.
As the tubes move downward they contact dough pieces retained
within the hex-shaped openings in the cutting plates. Vacuum
pressure through the tubes allows the tubes to retain the dough
pieces as the tubes move through the openings in the cutting
plates, thereby removing the dough pieces from the cutting unit.
Continued downward movement causes the tubes to enter the open ends
of containers positioned beneath the cutting unit. Air expelled
from the tubes causes the dough pieces to be deposited in the
containers. The length of the tubes are graduated such that the
dough pieces are deposited in the bottoms of the containers at the
start of the packing operation and near the tops of the containers
at the end of the packing operation.
The containers are properly positioned for receiving the dough
pieces by a plurality of pairs of laterally extending, horizontally
disposed upper and lower flighted augers. Empty containers are
delivered to a first end of the flighted augers by a first endless
belt conveyor. A second endless belt conveyor removes filled
containers from a second end of the flighted augers.
An electric drive motor is coupled to a first gear box which in
turn is coupled to a second gear box by a first shaft. The second
gear box is coupled to the cutting unit through a first mechanical
intermittent drive. The first intermittent drive allows the cutting
unit to move in a step-wise manner to position successive cutting
plates beneath the retaining and releasing assembly. The drive
motor is further coupled to a crank through a third gear box. The
crank is connected to the retaining and releasing assembly, and
thereby moves the tubes in a reciprocating fashion. The
reciprocating movement of the tubes is synchronized with the
step-wise movement of the cutting unit so that the cutting unit
only moves when the tubes are not extending into or through the
openings in the cutting plates.
The cutting unit of the cutting and packing apparatus of Reid is
further illustrated in-part in prior art FIG. 1. As discussed
above, the cutting unit 100 is formed by a plurality of
interconnected cutting plates 102 (only one of which is shown in
FIG. 1) having a plurality of hex-shaped cups or openings 103. A
sheet of dough 104 is carried by the cutting plates 102 which move
through the cutting and packing apparatus in the direction of arrow
106.
A transversely extending roll 108, positioned above the cutting
plates 102 presses the dough sheet 104 against the cutting plates
102 to divide the dough sheet 104 into a plurality of dough pieces
110 that are held within the hex-shaped openings 103. The dough
sheet 104 is divided (i.e., cut) into dough pieces 110 by the
action of the roll 108 which engages edges 112 of the cutting
plates 102 which define the hex-shaped openings 103. Rotation of
the roll 108 in the direction of arrow 114 is effected by the
movement of the dough sheet 104 and cutting plates 102 past the
roll 108. Beneath the cutting plates 102 and aligned with the roll
108 is a supporting roll 116 which supports the cutting plates 102
during the cutting operation of the roll 108. Rotation of the
supporting roll 116 in the direction of arrow 118 is effected by
the movement of the cutting plates 102 past the supporting roll
116.
The use of the roll 108 to press the dough sheet 104 against the
cutting plates 102 and to divide the dough sheet 104 into a
plurality of dough pieces 110 that are held within the hex-shaped
openings 103 has some disadvantages. As can be seen in prior art
FIG. 1, the roll 108 creates a dough ridge 120 in the dough sheet
104 ahead of the cutting operation performed by the roll 108. This
dough ridge 120 distorts the shape of the dough of the dough sheet
104, causing the formation of misshaped or not optimally shaped
dough pieces 110 within the hex-shaped openings 103 which are
designed to produce dough pieces for a standard size type 204
container. These dough pieces 110 are typically trapezoidal shaped
in cross section and therefore the dough pieces 110 do not
completely fill the volume of the hex-shaped cups 103.
Theoretically, a fully filled hex-shaped cup 103 can hold an
optimally shaped dough piece weighing 62.4 grams. It is desirable
for certain markets, particularly for the European market, to
produce a hex-shaped opening held dough piece weighing
approximately 55.0 grams. However, the prior art cutting unit 110
typically can only produce a hex-shaped opening held dough piece
weighing approximately 45.0 grams.
It is evident that there is a continuing need for improved dough
cutting and packing devices. In particular, there is a need for a
dough cutting and packing apparatus which can produce dough pieces
of greater weight than can be produced by prior art dough cutting
and packing devices. The dough pieces produced should be of a
desired shape so as to be aesthetically pleasing to customers. In
addition, the dough cutting and packing apparatus should be capable
of producing high weight dough pieces at a high rate of speed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a dough cutting and packing apparatus. The
dough cutting and packing apparatus includes an endless cutting
unit having a plurality of cutting plates. The cutting plates have
a plurality of dough retaining openings. A dough sheeting and
cutting mechanism of the dough cutting and packing apparatus
includes an initial compressor roll and a terminal compressor roll.
The initial compressor roll is positioned adjacent a first end of
the cutting unit and operates to partially sheet the dough of a
dough strip into the dough retaining openings of the cutting
plates. The terminal compressor roll is positioned subsequent to
the initial compressor roll and is spaced from the first end of the
cutting unit. The terminal compressor roll sheets a remaining
portion of the dough of the dough strip into the cutting plates to
divide the dough strip into a plurality of dough pieces that are
retained in the dough retaining openings.
The cutting plates extend about a rotatable idler element and a
rotatable drive element spaced from the idler element. An
intermittent drive mechanism is coupled to the drive element to
drive the cutting unit in an accelerating and decelerating motion
profile with the dough strip supported on an upper surface of the
cutting plates. The initial compressor roll is spaced from the
upper surface of the cutting plates, whereas the terminal
compressor roll contacts the upper surface of the cutting
plates.
The dough sheeting and cutting mechanism further includes drive
apparatus which is coupled to the initial compressor roll for
rotatably driving the initial roll. The drive apparatus includes a
gear reduction mechanism which causes rotation of the initial
compressor roll at a peripheral rate of speed that is greater than
the instantaneous linear rate of speed of the cutting unit. The
terminal compressor roll is rotatably driven at a peripheral rate
of speed by way of frictional contact with the upper surface of the
cutting plates, such that the peripheral rate of speed of the
terminal compressor roll matches the linear rate of speed of the
cutting unit. The initial roll could also be driven by a chain
drive to the terminal roll, or by a servo motor.
After the dough sheeting and cutting mechanism divides the sheet of
dough into dough pieces which are held within the dough retaining
openings in the cutting plates, the dough pieces are carried to a
packing mechanism. The packing mechanism includes a plurality of
retaining and releasing heads. The retaining and releasing heads
are moved in a reciprocating fashion relative to the cutting unit.
As the retaining and releasing heads move downward (i.e., through
the packing stroke), they contact the dough pieces held within the
retaining openings in the cutting plates. This causes the dough
pieces to adhere to the retaining and releasing heads as the heads
move through the openings in the cutting plates. Once the retaining
and releasing heads enter the open ends of containers positioned
beneath the cutting unit, the retaining and releasing heads
discharge and deposit the dough pieces in the containers. Next, the
retaining and releasing heads are moved out of the open ends of the
containers and back through the openings in the cutting plates.
The containers are moved relative to the packing mechanism by a
container positioning mechanism defined by a plurality of pairs of
flighted augers such that the containers are intermittently stopped
below respective retaining and releasing heads to allow the packing
mechanism to transfer dough pieces from the cutting unit to the
containers.
This dough cutting and packing apparatus is relatively
uncomplicated. By providing the dough cutting and packing apparatus
with a dough sheeting and cutting mechanism that incorporates an
initial compressor roll and a terminal compressor roll, larger
weight dough pieces can be produced than those produced by typical
prior art dough cutting and packing devices. By using initial and
terminal compressor rolls, dough ridges ahead of the rolls are
minimized when compared to prior art devices incorporating a single
roll. Minimizing dough ridges in the dough of the dough sheet
minimizes any distortion in the dough during the sheeting and
cutting process creating a more optimally shaped dough piece that
substantially fills the hex-shaped openings in the cutting plates.
Since the dough pieces substantially fill the volume of the
hex-shaped openings the dough cutting and packing apparatus creates
greater weight dough pieces that are aesthetically pleasing to
customers. In addition, the dough sheeting and cutting mechanism
allows the dough pieces to be formed efficiently and at a high rate
of speed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 a side elevational view illustrating the operation of a
prior art roll for pressing a dough sheet against a cutting plate,
having a plurality of hex-shaped cups, to divide the dough sheet
into a plurality of dough pieces that are held within the
hex-shaped cups.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dough cutting and packing
apparatus incorporating a dough sheeting and cutting mechanism in
accordance with the present invent(on.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view illustrating the operation of the
dough sheeting and cutting mechanism of the dough cutting and
packing apparatus shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A dough cutting and packing apparatus 10 in accordance with the
present invention is illustrated generally in FIG. 1. The cutting
and packing apparatus 10 includes an endless cutting unit 12 having
a plurality of interconnected cutting plates 14 (only some of which
are shown in FIG. 1). Each of the cutting plates 14 includes a
plurality of dough retaining cups or openings 16. The dough
retaining openings 16 are hexagonal in cross section and are
typically referred to as hex-shaped. The cutting unit 12 extends
about an idler element 18 and a drive element 20. The drive element
20 is coupled to a mechanical intermittent drive 22 which is driven
by a first electric drive motor 24 through a gear box (not shown).
The intermittent drive 22 causes the cutting unit 12 to be driven
in a step-wise manner by the first drive motor 24.
A sheet of dough 26 merges with the cutting unit 12 adjacent the
idler element 18. The cutting unit 12 supports the dough sheet 26
as the dough sheet 26 travels through a dough sheeting and cutting
mechanism 11. The dough sheeting and cutting mechanism 11 includes
an initial compressor roll 13 which is spaced from an upper surface
48 of the cutting plates 14. As seen best in FIG. 3, the initial
compressor roll 13 acts to partially sheet (i.e., press) the dough
of the dough sheet 26 into the plurality of openings 16 of the
cutting plates 14. An initial support roll 15 positioned beneath
the cutting plates 14, and in alignment with the initial compressor
roll 11, supports the cutting plates 14 as the initial roll 11
sheets the dough sheet 26 into the openings 16. The cutting plates
14 could also be supported from below by a low friction framework
or a sliding bed.
The initial roll 13 is rotatably driven by a drive mechanism 17.
The drive mechanism 17 includes a gear reduction mechanism 19
having an input sprocket 21 which is coupled to a drive gear 23
fixed to the idler element 18. The input sprocket 21 is coupled to
and driven by the drive gear 23 via a first endless drive belt 25.
An output sprocket 27 of the gear reduction mechanism 19 is coupled
to a driven gear 29 fixed to the initial roll 13. The driven gear
29, and therewith, the initial roll 13 is coupled to and driven by
the output sprocket 27 via a second endless drive belt 31. The gear
reduction mechanism 19, drive gear 23 and driven gear 29 are set up
to rotatably drive the initial roll 13 at a peripheral rate of
speed that is greater than a linear rate of speed of the cutting
plates 14 of the cutting unit 12 as imparted to the drive and idler
elements 20 and 18 via the first electric drive motor 24.
As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, subsequent to the initial roll 13 the
dough sheet enters a terminal compressor roll 30 of the dough
sheeting and cutting mechanism 11. A support roller 28 positioned
beneath the cutting plates 14, supports the cutting plates 14 as a
terminal roll 30 presses the remaining dough of the sheet of dough
26 into the cutting plates 14 so that the sheet of dough 26 is
finally divided into dough pieces 32 that are held within the
retaining openings 16 in the cutting unit 12. The cutting plates 14
could also be supported from below by a low friction framework or a
sliding bed. The terminal roll 30 is driven by friction as the
sheet of dough 26 passes between the terminal roll 30 and the
cutting plates 14. Hence, the peripheral rate of speed of the
terminal roll 30 is substantially equal to the linear rate of speed
of the cutting plates 14 of the cutting unit 12.
In operation, the initial and terminal rolls 13 and 30 are
preferably each approximately thirteen inches in diameter and are
preferably formed of a neoprene material. The initial roll 13 is
spaced from the upper surface 48 of the cutting plates 14 by a
distance of 0.03125 inches to 0.5 inches. Preferably, in operation,
the spacing of the initial roll 13 from the upper surface 48 of the
cutting plates 14 is 0.125 inches. Typically, the thickness of the
dough of the dough sheet 26 before the dough sheet reaches the
initial roll 13 is approximately 1.000 to 1.125 inches. Dough sheet
thickness is dependent upon the density of the dough of the dough
sheet 26. Hence, the initial roll 13 presses between about 0.5 to
1.000 inches of dough into the openings 16 with 0.125 inches of
remaining dough of the dough sheet 26 reaching the terminal roll
30.
In operation, the initial roll 13 is driven at a peripheral rate of
speed of between 105% and 175% of the linear rate of speed of the
cutting unit 12. Preferably, the peripheral rate of speed of the
initial roll 13 is 110% of the linear rate of speed of the cutting
unit 12. By overdriving the initial roll 13 and spacing the initial
roll 13 above the upper surface 48 of the cutting plates 14, the
dough of the dough sheet 26 is pushed ahead of the initial roll 13
and sheeted into the openings 26. By forcing the dough of the dough
sheet 26 ahead of the initial roll 13 a dough ridge 53 (see FIG. 3)
ahead of the initial roll 13 is minimized. In addition, by reducing
the amount of dough sheet 26 reaching the terminal roll 30, a dough
ridge 55 ahead of the terminal roll 30 is minimized. Minimizing the
dough ridges 53 and 55 in the dough of the dough sheet 26 minimizes
any distortion in the dough during the sheeting and cutting process
creating a more optimally shaped dough piece 32 that substantially
fills the openings 16 in the cutting plates 14. Since the dough
pieces 32 substantially fill the volume of the openings 16, the
dough cutting and packing apparatus 10 creates greater weight dough
pieces 32. These dough pieces typically weigh approximately 55.0
grams when cut from a hex bar for a 204 size container.
The dough pieces 32 are carried by the cutting unit 12 away from
the terminal roll 30 to a position beneath a packing mechanism 33.
As seen best in FIG. 2, the packing mechanism 33 includes a
plurality of retaining and releasing heads or tubes 34 rigidly
mounted to a support plate 35. The support plate 35 is driven in a
reciprocating fashion by a packing mechanism drive assembly 36. The
drive assembly 36 includes first and second, upper, rotatable
support shafts 37a and 37b, respectively, and first and second,
lower, rotatable support shafts 38a and 38b, respectively.
As seen in FIG. 2, the first, lower support shaft 38a includes a
rigidly fixed first idler gear 39a and the first, upper shaft 37a
includes a rigidly fixed first drive gear 40a. A first toothed belt
41a couples the first idler gear 39a to the first drive gear 40a.
In addition, the first, lower shaft 38a includes a rigidly fixed
second idler gear (not shown) and the first, upper shaft 37a
includes a rigidly fixed second drive gear 43a. A second toothed
belt 44a couples the second idler gear 42a to the second drive gear
43a. The first and second belts 41a and 44a permit rotation of the
first, upper shaft 37a to be transferred to the first, lower shaft
38a. The support plate 35 is secured to the toothed belts 41a and
44a through connectors (not shown).
Like the first, lower shaft 38a, the second lower shaft 38b
includes a rigidly fixed, first idler gear (not shown) and a
rigidly fixed second idler gear 42b. In addition, like the first,
upper shaft 37a, the second, upper shaft 37b includes rigidly
fixed, first and second drive gears 40b and 43b, respectively. A
third toothed belt 41b couples the first idler gear to the first
drive gear 40b and a fourth toothed belt 44b couples the second
idler gear 42b to the second drive gear 43b. The third and fourth
belts 41b and 44b permit rotation of the second, upper shaft 37b to
be transferred to the second, lower shaft 38b. The support plate 35
is secured to the toothed belts 41b and 44b through connectors (not
shown).
As seen best in FIG. 2, the packing mechanism drive assembly 36
further includes an electric servo motor 46. The servo motor 46
includes a rotatable output shaft having rigidly fixed, first and
second drive sprockets 49a and 49b, respectively. The first drive
sprocket 49a is coupled to an idler sprocket 50a, rigidly fixed to
the first upper shaft 37a, through a fifth toothed belt 51a.
Likewise, the second drive sprocket 49b is coupled to an idler
sprocket 50b, rigidly fixed to the second upper shaft 37b, through
a sixth toothed belt 51b. The servo motor 46 is coupled to a motion
control module such as a programmable microprocessor 57. The
programmable microprocessor 57 controls the rate at which the servo
motor 46 operates and further controls stopping and starting of the
servo motor 46.
Clockwise rotation (as viewed in FIG. 2) of the drive sprockets 49a
and 49b via servo motor 46 causes downward movement (i.e., a
packing stroke) of the retaining and releasing heads 34. Likewise,
counter-clockwise rotation (as viewed in FIG. 2) of the drive
sprockets 49a and 49b via servo motor 46 causes upward movement
(i.e., a return stroke) of the retaining and releasing heads 34.
Reciprocating movement of the retaining and releasing heads 34
through operation of the servo motor 46 causes the heads 34 to pass
through the openings 16 in the cutting plates 14. As the retaining
and releasing heads 34 move downward (i.e., through the packing
stroke), they contact the dough pieces 32 held within the retaining
openings 16 in the cutting plates 14 and cause the dough pieces 32
to be deposited in the containers 54 through open ends 52 of the
containers 54. In the return stroke of the retaining and releasing
heads 34 move out of the open ends 52 of the containers 54 and back
through the openings 16 in the cutting plates 14. The container
packing mechanism 33 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,782 to
Rejsa, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference
thereto.
The length of the heads 34 are graduated such that the dough pieces
32 are deposited in the bottoms of the containers 54 at the start
of the packing operation and near the tops of the containers 54 at
the end of the packing operation. The reciprocating movement of the
retaining and releasing heads 34 is synchronized with the step-wise
movement of the cutting unit 12 so that the cutting unit 12 only
moves when the heads 34 are not extending into or through the
retaining openings 16 in the cutting plates 14.
As seen in FIG. 2, the containers 54 are properly positioned for
receiving the dough pieces 32 by a container positioning mechanism
56 defined by a plurality of pairs of laterally extending,
horizontally disposed upper and lower flighted augers 58 that
engage the containers 54. The container positioning mechanism 56 is
positioned beneath the cutting unit 12 and the packing mechanism 33
so that the containers 54 are positioned in aligned registry with
retaining and releasing heads 34. Empty containers 54 are delivered
to a first end of the flighted augers 58 by a first endless belt
conveyor (not shown). A second endless belt conveyor (not shown)
removes filled containers 54 from a second end of the flighted
augers 58. The flighted augers 58 of the container positioning
mechanism 56 are driven by a second electric drive motor 60. The
second electric drive motor 60 is coupled to the programmable
microprocessor 57. The programmable microprocessor 57 controls the
rate at which the second drive motor 60 operates and further
controls stopping and starting of the second drive motor 60. The
container positioning mechanism 56 is described in U.S. patent
application DOUGH CUTTING AND PACKING APPARATUS, Ser. No.
07/776,900, filed on Oct. 16, 1991, which is a Continuation of U.S.
patent application DOUGH CUTTING AND PACKING APPARATUS, Ser. No.
07/521,734, filed on May 10, 1990, which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference thereto.
The dough cutting and packing apparatus 10 is relatively
uncomplicated. By providing the dough cutting and packing apparatus
10 with a dough sheeting and cutting mechanism 11 that incorporates
an initial compressor roll 13 and a terminal compressor roll 30,
larger weight dough pieces 32 can be produced than those produced
by typical prior art dough cutting and packing devices. By using
initial and terminal compressor rolls 13 and 30, dough ridges 53
and 55 ahead of the rolls 13 and 30 are minimized when compared to
prior art devices incorporating a single roll. Minimizing dough
ridges 53 and 55 in the dough of the dough sheet 26 minimizes any
distortion in the dough during the sheeting and cutting process
creating a more optimally shaped dough piece 32 that substantially
fills the hex-shaped openings 16 in the cutting plates 14. Since
the dough pieces 32 substantially fill the volume of the hex-shaped
openings 16 the dough cutting and packing apparatus 10 creates
greater weight dough pieces 32 that are aesthetically pleasing to
customers. In addition, the dough sheeting and cutting mechanism 11
allows the dough pieces 32 to be formed efficiently and at a high
rate of speed.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to
preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize
that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *